Jonathan Levine Has Mastered The “Comedy With Feelings”

Comedies are expected to be packed with laughs. But when a director can fill them up with a whole bunch of tender feelings too? Well, that’s pretty impressive. And there’s currently no one accomplishing this feat as well as Jonathan Levine.

It’s not that he’s simply figured out how to make viewers feel in between belly laughs, it’s that he’s figured out how to achieve the perfect balance of emotions to giggles for each project. As the director of this past weekend’s release, the Amy Schumer-Goldie Hawn kidnap comedy, Snatched, Levine kept the pace of the film quick, which was appropriate for the story at hand. The mother-daughter duo slows down for just a brief moment to share heartfelt thoughts, and then it’s back to the action in the middle of the jungle — because that’s Snatched. Sure, you’re not leaving this wacky comedy without some acknowledgement of this mother-daughter dynamic, but any tears welling up in your eyes are from laughing too hard, not the genuine human emotions that are concise as can be, in between running for their lives.

Levine found a bit more time for feelings in 2015’s The Night Before, which followed three best buds (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie) throughout a crazy Christmas Eve where each dude contemplated and faced fears about their friendships, pleasing their parents, preparing to be parents, and accepting the decisions they’ve made in their lives — all while searching for an epic party and getting a little bit drunk and a lot high along the way. Just because you’re having a crazy night with your friends doesn’t mean you can’t find the time to share an earnest moment or two! What Levine did so effortlessly with this film was blend the all-too-real feelings you have about your lifelong friends with the silliness that occurs — you know, the reason you continue to hang out with those people after all these years. While the scale certainly tips more in the direction of LOLs than Awwws, the way such a ridiculous scenario seesaws back and forth between the two sentiments is what gives this film the heart you didn’t see coming from a seasonal stoner comedy.

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However, Levine’s not always moving at a breakneck pace; sometimes it’s more of a zombie’s pace (and don’t even talk to me if you think zombies can be fast – they are dead, and they are slow). With 2013’s Warm Bodies, Levine directed Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer in the Romeo and Juliet update, which, yes, includes the living dead. The romance between a pretty young woman and still hot as a zombie Hoult, works surprisingly well and packs quite a satisfying emotional punch. Not every director could convince you to be so invested in a zombie-human romance, let’s just put it that way. The humor and heart are on par with the action, which moves at a slower yet sufficient pace for the storytelling at hand (because again, zombies are not fast). This is a guy that knows how to keep things moving, and keep viewers feeling.

While Levine’s first projects, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and The Wackness, made early and respectable impressions on viewers and critics alike, it was 2011’s 50/50 that remains one of the truest and best examples of his talent. Gordon-Levitt stars as a young man facing a cancer diagnosis, Rogen serves as his supportive BFF, and Anna Kendrick is a delight as the therapist/love interest. You’ll often find yourself chuckling through tears, but what would you expect from a “cancer comedy?” Well, you probably weren’t expecting that phrase to ever really exist, but in Levine’s capable hands, it thrives and will give you one of the ultimate film-induced cry-laughs of your life.

In an era where the sad comedy is omnipresent, Levine is able to transcend bummer themes to deliver films that are much more hopeful and positive and always funny. In fact, his directing of Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here pilot is what will inspire viewers to return for episode two. He’s able to insert a charm to his projects that guarantees him a longevity in not only the comedy world, but other genres as well. In other words, this guy’s going to be making us laugh, and cry, for a long time to come.